Liverpool Council has gone out to tender for a long-term replacement for Bulky Bob’s as its furniture collection supplier.
In November, the city council said it was ending its more than two-decade relationship with Bulky Bob’s - part of the FRC Group - having deemed its terms to no longer represent best value. The council had used the company, part of the FRC Group, to collect and dispose of large furniture items for residents across the city since 2000.
Distinctive purple trucks have been a regular sight in wards throughout Liverpool picking up pieces from outside homes. The last seven-year contract between the two partners ended after they were unable to reach an agreement.
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Earlier this week, Bulky Bob’s boss Shaun Doran said he had “no beef” with the city council as the FRC Group launched its new paid collection service. Tender documents made public have revealed Liverpool Council is looking for a new operator of its own free provision, with its in-house streetscene service running the collections in the interim.
The papers said: “The current contract for the provision of kerbside waste collection services expires in March 2023 and the Council is currently considering the options available for the ongoing provision of these services for the local authority area.” Expressions of interest can be made up until Monday February 13.
It is expected a new operator would take up the contract from April 1 until March 2026. Speaking earlier this week, Shaun Doran, chief executive of the FRC Group said it had not been a surprise that its working relationship with the council came to an end.
He said: “We'd run the contract for 22 years and we're really committed to working with partners of all descriptions. It was great for us to have that partnership with Liverpool Council but what happened followed on probably from the years of austerity, the council’s budget began to erode.
“They were in a position where it was difficult for them to fund the more expensive collection and reuse service and it reached a point where it was sort of untenable for them to fund it. It was also untenable for us to continue to run the service at effectively a loss or a contribution from us.”
Mr Doran said over its two decades across the city Bulky Bob’s had made more than one million pick-ups and collected around three million items for reuse. It will now charge £30 for the pick-up and removal of five bulky household items.
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